Recent data from Statistics Canada show the youngest households in Canada saw their wealth decrease for the first time since the pandemic began as they avoided home purchases and reduced their financial assets.
for the first time since the pandemic beganThe report shows that the average wealth of the youngest age group, in which the main income earner is younger than 35, dropped by 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, those aged 35 and older who make the highest income in their household increased their wealth by 0.8 per cent on average, with the country's least wealthy households, or those in the lowest two wealth quintiles, also increasing their average net worth at a faster pace than the wealthiest ones.contributed three, 4.7 and 0.8 per cent respectively to the net worth of the least wealthy households, while real estate and consumer goods led to four and 0.7 per cent decreases.
Real estate values saw little change in the fourth quarter of 2021 for the youngest age group, which StatCan said is due to younger Canadians avoiding home purchases.However, the value of their non-pension financial assets, including cash held in savings accounts, mutual funds and other investments, dropped by 3.3 per cent.The report comes as more young Canadians report putting off buying homes amid record-high housing prices.
In November, IG Private Wealth Management reported that the country's most affluent families would giveIn an effort to address challenges around housing affordability, the Liberal government, with the support of the NDP, will look to pass its recently released budget, which pledgesThe federal government will attempt to double the number of homes built each year over the next decade to about 400,000 in order to meet the 3.5 million it estimates is needed by 2031 to meet demand..
The federal government also will ban foreign buyers from purchasing homes in Canada for the next two years, with certain exemptions.